Wakefern Expands Engagement With Simbe, Bringing Proven Inventory Solution To Additional Stores To Further Transform Grocery Operations

The largest U.S. retailer-owned cooperative will bring Simbe’s business intelligence solution to more ShopRite locations, providing real-time insights for inventory management and store optimization

Keasbey, NJ and San Francisco, CA (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) - Simbe Robotics, Inc., the company leveraging AI and robotics to elevate retail with real-time insights into inventory and operations, today announced that Wakefern Food Corp. will expand Simbe’s business intelligence solution to additional ShopRite stores after a successful pilot.

Over the past several months, Wakefern fully vetted Simbe’s comprehensive platform in more than 20 stores to ensure that its technology solution seamlessly integrated into store environments and optimized inventory management. After a highly productive pilot, the stores were able to leverage Simbe’s real-time insights to meaningfully reduce out-of-stock rates, maximizing inventory availability and exceeding industry standards.

Wakefern first began integrating Simbe’s business intelligence solution, powered by Tally, to drive inventory optimization at the stores and help retail associates do more impactful, customer-facing work. Tally is the world’s first and most advanced inventory robot that autonomously scans shelves of products using AI to identify out-of-stock, misplaced, or mispriced products, as well as generate comprehensive product location data for efficient inventory replenishment. Simbe then delivers high-quality, real-time actionable insights to drive improved store operations.

“Tally has proven to be the ideal shelf-intelligence solution for our members as it’s been able to roll right into our technology ecosystem, sending real-time shelf condition data directly to retail associates’ handheld devices,” said Charles J. McWeeney, VP, Technology, Innovation & Strategy at Wakefern Food Corp. “With timely, consistent, and accurate product data from Tally, our in-store mobile application presents a prioritized aisle by aisle inventory worklist to the store associates, ensuring they invest their time in the most meaningful and valuable services for our customers.”

Tally’s AI-powered platform detects out-of-stock items at more than 99% accuracy and frees up dozens of hours per week for store teams to focus on other important tasks. Tally autonomously roams stores multiple times per day, requires only one day to set up, and achieves ROI within 60 days. Tally is able to do all of this quickly and seamlessly, operating quietly alongside shoppers and in tandem with store associates.

“With our business intelligence solution, Wakefern has real-time visibility into shelf health at a frequency and fidelity that cannot be found anywhere else on the market,” said Brad Bogolea, Co-Founder and CEO of Simbe. “This consistent access to deep, precise insights has empowered Wakefern and its members' store teams to further improve the exceptional shopping experience their customers expect by keeping shelves fully stocked. We look forward to continuing to enhance the experience for store teams and shoppers alike.”

In July 2023, Simbe announced a Series B raise of $28M, led by Eclipse. This latest investment will help Simbe meet growing demand for its proven solution among innovative retailers like Wakefern.

About Wakefern Food Corp.
From a small, local cooperative that began with eight grocery store owners, Wakefern Food Corp. has grown into the largest retailer-owned cooperative in the United States. Founded in 1946, the cooperative includes nearly 50 member families who today independently own and operate hundreds of supermarkets under the ShopRite, Price Rite Marketplace, The Fresh Grocer, Dearborn Market, Gourmet Garage, and Fairway Market banners in New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. For more information, please visit www.wakefern.com.

About Simbe Robotics
Simbe Robotics is the global leader in automation solutions that give retailers unprecedented visibility and insight into the state of their store environments while improving inventory and operational challenges. Simbe is a privately held, venture-backed company headquartered in San Francisco, CA, and works with major worldwide retailers and brands across the US, Europe, and Asia. For more information, visit www.simberobotics.com or follow the company at @simberobotics.

About Tally™
Tally is the world’s first fully autonomous in-store product auditing solution. Tally works in concert with retail store associates by empowering them with timely information to ensure products are always stocked, in the right place, and correctly priced. Using a suite of sensors, the robot operates safely during regular store hours alongside shoppers and employees and doesn’t require any infrastructure changes to the store. Tally’s design is intuitive, friendly, and fits naturally into the retail environment. The robot scans entire stores up to three times per day and autonomously returns to its dock allowing for continuous operation. Combined with Simbe’s cloud-powered software platform, powered by computer vision and machine learning, retailers have unprecedented information and insight into the state of their stores. This information can be used to streamline store performance, maximize customer satisfaction, increase sales, and optimize operational expenditures.